Parallel Guides on YouTube?

[Wonderwino]

When they are properly calibrated, the guides can be very close to square.  I would still verify by laying a quality speedsquare on the board with the thick edge against the parallel guide and the thin against the rail.  I use a Woodpeckers version.

 

[fshanno]

Very good video. Brian said that the rails do not guaranty squareness, just equal cuts. Is there a way to guaranty squareness ?

Bruce

When using one arm as a t-square you need to tighten the two brass screws.  That will tighten the arm on the guide removing wiggle at the opposite end of the guide.  If you don't tighten them there is play.  This is natural, otherwise you couldn't get the arm to slide onto the guide.  Once the screws are tight the arms squareness is determined buy all the gear that makes up the arm, the casting, the extrusion, all of it.  Mine is very close, good enough for 24" cross cuts on sheet goods, less than a 64th off at that width. 

If you get hold of one that's off, not square even after tightening the little screws, there's bound to be a way to tune it.

 

[tbellemare]

Well put, Fshanno...

It isn't that one can't use the set up as a way to square a guide rail... It's that it isn't designed to "necessarily" be a guide rail squaring device.

By using all of the adjustments available, and there are many in the system, one can make these do more than they are advertised to do. That's just like most well made tools.

Look through the threads on these guides and you will see many excellent adaptations.

Tom

 

[BMH]

Thank you all for your answers. The video demonstration and follow up discusion help clarify the capcity and limitation of the system. Hopefuly we will see more quality video from Festool on all of their products.

 

[davidaz]

I have a quick question on the parallel guides, as I am considering acquiring a set. All the demos use what appears to be near 3/4" stock. The thickness of the guides mounted under the guide rail raises the rail to the thickness of the parallel guides, correct? Does that present a problem if cutting 1/8" stock or something thicker like 1" stock where the guides would not sit flat on the work area? The approx thickness of the guide rail is 185mm so what if one needs to cut 1/8 or 1/4" stock in widths less than 185mm? I assume the use of the extensions would solve this but I am still confused with having the guide rail and zero clearance edge not resting on the surface of the boad being cut. Can some of you who have this system help explain. David

 

[Brice Burrell]

David, I discuss the issue of the cutting stock less than 3/4" in my review of the guides, review of the parallel guides. The info you want is on page three of the review but taking a look at the whole thing might be helpful.

In short I use shims under the stock to raise the stock up the rail. The guides themselves can be unsupported with little or no problems in use.

 

[tbellemare]

David:

when you let the parallel guide arms cantilever past the sides of work piece is that you can cut any thickness material

I think that's the same thing Brice means when he says:

The guides themselves can be unsupported with little or no problems in use

.

Just dangle them off the sides of the work piece and you can cut as thick or thin as you want. That assumes that you don't have anything in the way of them dangling.

Tom

 

[davidaz]

Brice and Tom

Thanks so much for you quick updates they were both very helpful and Brice your review totally answered several other pending questions so its time to make the plunge with the wallet.  Thanks again!

 

[EcoFurniture]

I will be ripping 20 sheets of bamboo ply tomorrow and be using the guides on the first bigger project since I got them. So far, I haven't been really impressed as my usual method (pencil line) was faster and most of the time "close enough".
Anyhow, I haven't given up, so will see how tomorrow goes.

 

[mwhafner]

I will be ripping 20 sheets of bamboo ply tomorrow and be using the guides on the first bigger project since I got them. So far, I haven't been really impressed as my usual method (pencil line) was faster and most of the time "close enough".
Anyhow, I haven't given up, so will see how tomorrow goes.

I have had a love/hate relationship with my parallel guides, and it took a little time to figure out when to use them and when it was more trouble than it was worth.  After a little experience, they are now one of my favorite Festool accessories.  If you take their operation into account when making your cut list, it makes a huge difference. 

 

[JeromeM]

I have a quick question on the parallel guides, as I am considering acquiring a set. All the demos use what appears to be near 3/4" stock. The thickness of the guides mounted under the guide rail raises the rail to the thickness of the parallel guides, correct? Does that present a problem if cutting 1/8" stock or something thicker like 1" stock where the guides would not sit flat on the work area? The approx thickness of the guide rail is 185mm so what if one needs to cut 1/8 or 1/4" stock in widths less than 185mm? I assume the use of the extensions would solve this but I am still confused with having the guide rail and zero clearance edge not resting on the surface of the board being cut. Can some of you who have this system help explain. David

I have just been cutting a lot of 6mm x 70mm strips for the torsion box section of my mobile work top and work bench.

I also had to cut the side rails to length (46mm x 110mm) using the parallel guides as I don't have a SCMS yet

The procedure that worked for me was to support the work pieces on sheets of expanded polystyrene. I used 3 20mm sheets as that was enough for the extensions to clear the top of the workbench. The large 6mm sheet that the 70mm strips were cut from rested directly on the expanded poly. with the parallel guides mostly unsupported the lengths were 600mm to 1500mm so the rail was flat on the sheet.

However for the 46mm x 110mm there was not enough width to be sure that the weight of the FS-PA would not lift the front of the rail. The answer was to put a small wedge under the tail ends of the guides. Of course using a SCMS would have been easier but needs must and the FS-PA did the job.

 

[HowardH]

I sold my table saw last spring thinking these guides would replace it and save me a lot of space.  It kinda worked out.  It's tremendous for sheet goods.  Works like a champ.  It's  cumbersome for dimensioned stock like for cutting rails and stiles.  I could cut them very quickly on a table saw.  Once set up, you can do this reasonably fast using the PGS but the set up is a pain compared to just sliding a fence and ripping away.  Of course, using the PGS is much safer than using a table saw for ripping narrow pieces but it seems to take 3 hands and a monkey's tail sometimes to get it all set up right.  I also concur that using the MFT as your support system is big mistake.  I wasn't paying that close of attention and I now have about a inch wide groove in my mft!  :-[  I went out and got some Durham's rock hard filler which I will use tomorrow night to try to fix the mft.  If that doesn't work, then I'll have to order a new plate.  In the end, there are simply just some things a table saw will do better.  If you think you can use the Parallel Guide Set can replace your table saw, you may be disappointed.  When I can afford it, it's hello Sawstop. 

 

[harry_]

I will be ripping 20 sheets of bamboo ply tomorrow and be using the guides on the first bigger project since I got them. So far, I haven't been really impressed as my usual method (pencil line) was faster and most of the time "close enough".
Anyhow, I haven't given up, so will see how tomorrow goes.

you never said how it went?

 

[EcoFurniture]

I will be ripping 20 sheets of bamboo ply tomorrow and be using the guides on the first bigger project since I got them. So far, I haven't been really impressed as my usual method (pencil line) was faster and most of the time "close enough".
Anyhow, I haven't given up, so will see how tomorrow goes.

you never said how it went?

Well, I returned them. They didn't make me work faster...